2018 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, Ramona J. Smith

This is my classmate and good friend and I'm so proud of her!!!!! 😘😘😘😘😘

Her confidence level is at level of nobody. Her speech is simple but message is strong and delivery is extremely well done.

Her charisma won the championship for her. Charismatic habits: 1. Inhabiting actions/characters of the story 2. Using vocal dynamics: changing tonalities 3. Hand gestures 4. Using the stage 5. Using humor

I literally clapped she's so amazing, I wish I will be like her someday, speaking confidently in public...

I was a competitor in the 2018 World Championships from Australia. After winning the Club level and Area level, I went on to win the Division level and I progressed to the District Contest in which I did not place, but I am quite happy to be the Division Champion in my very first World Championship. I have to disagree with some of the commenters who have said that this wasn't a great speech...not World Championship material...not much content... etc. However, one has to remember that a winner is a person who scores more points over the current opponents and not some previous gold standards. As a competitor (who lost) I have to concede that Ramona did a great job and I have lost to a really deserving speaker. She had humour, it was entertaining...she brought out the humour in stages after building a foundation of personal defeat. There was also a call to action in the very inspirational message that whatever happens it is to your credit if YOU ARE STILL STANDING! Hats off Ramona...Congratulations on your spectacular victory!

I'm on a Toastmasters marathon today. Watching all the winning speeches.

She killed it! I went to my first toastmaster meeting yesterday. Never heard of toastmaster before. It caught my interest through a FB ad as they were meeting near me at the library. I was then reading a book The Procrastination Equation, and the author mentioned how toastmaster helped him. That’s all the nudge I needed. I had a great time with them yesterday and I’ll certainly be finding a club to join. Go Ramona! Still. Standing. I am still standing. We are still standing.

I can’t believe she squeezed that much great speech into only 7m!!

This speech is one of those speeches I listened without skipping. I even rewinded it so many times... really very energetic.👏👏👏

Wow. This is such a creative speech. Her expression and body movements brought so much life and meaning to the message. I love it!

A few years ago I made a BIG mistake: I said something like "great speech but not great enough to win 1st place". I was wrong. Watching this again with fresh eyes, I'm blown away by her body language (so many examples), use of the stage, and presenting such a simple, concise message in such a relaxed, fun matter. Amazing work Ramona!

I liked the fact that she took to the stage and made it her own! She added depth with her humour and it was fun to watch. She spoke about some challenging times in her life and she overcame them, by not letting hard situations falter her. Also enjoyed her animated body gestures, she wasn't just rooted to one spot...she was fluid! It truly wasn't what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised and inspired!

I really liked her poise, presence, use of stage and amazingly relaxed confident presence. Been in TM for 7 years and can see, hear and know a formula speech by now. I have competed at club, division and district so have "learned" that it's no longer a speech like a MLK, Obama, JFK or FDR but has to have elements that "speak" to the judges.I have given speeches that won because of seeing what was expected which was a lot of drama via gestures, vocal variety and the so called inspirational journey.Seems like TM speeches are so much more about the depth of the drama and cramming as much into them as possible, where or what has happened to letting your audience feel the pain of loss and disappointment? Plus making some cheesy inspirational point that sounds hollow, as that to is part of the expected "formula".Nevertheless she did what she had to do and won in a highly competitive field, so kudos to her!

For those of you who are asking was this a speech or drama, you clearly have no idea how Toastmasters International differs from Toastmasters International competitions. It’s an entirely different world! The strategies that these ladies (the top three) used in the midst of telling their stories is what it actually takes to place or win. They had to move through the club, area, division, district, and semi-finals. Then, they had to ditch their speech used to win and create a brand new one for the international stage. Despite your feelings, this is far from simple. S/n: competing isn’t for everyone. You don’t have to be a competitor to be a Toastmaster.

I needed this boost of energy today. 3 years later she is impacting lives. Thank you.

I had to watch this again this morning you are a inspiration Mz Smith.

wow! that was powerful! loved it .. college, faith, relationships, etc. yes thats right "after suffering loss im still standing"

Congratulations, this was a well-delivered speech that captured all the elements of public speaking with confidence.

This speech made me cry ! The story she relayed here and how she delivered it is more than amazing! Cheers to more wonderful years ahead of us all watching this vid!❤️😍😍😍❤️❤️LOVE AND LIGHT! GOD BLESS US ALL!

I am Learning this because my school has something similar to this. This is a very good speech! I love the movements and tone she used. The way she engaged the audience and the way she used her emotions were very inspirational. I am currently in Middle School and Thrive to be like her every single day. Thank you Ramona J. Smith, for showing me how to be great.